The Next Voice You Hear...

Next Voice You Hear..., The (1950)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting film about people across the world and how their lives change after they hear the voice of God on the radio. The film takes a look at the Joe Smith family with James Whitmore, Nancy Davis and Gary Gray. This is a rather offbeat film for director Wellman but he pulls it off pretty well and makes this a rather memorable religious film, although the screenplay isn't juicy enough to pull it off as a masterpiece. The performances are all very good with Whitmore stealing the film as the hard working dad who begins to rethink things after hearing the voice. I think one of the problems with the screenplay is that it centers on this one family a tad bit too much. There are scenes where large groups of people are debating about the voice and these moments are the best of the film and I wish there had been more. The film plays a lot like what we'd eventually see in a 'Twilight Zone' episode because the voice, a mysterious one, never comes out and says it's God but that's up to the viewer to debate just like the people in the film. I called the film a religious one but thankfully it never goes over the top with propaganda or tries to beat the viewer over the head with a message.